Life is too short

Do what you love

You only live once (YOLO!)

No risk, no reward

I used to roll my eyes at these cliche sayings. However, the older I get the more I realize that you in fact only have one life to live so why not do something that sets your soul on fire. I am going out on a limb to try something new and exciting and something that I truly love. So here I am, rolling my eyes at myself. But what I am really telling myself is...

My passion for decorating is not a traditional one. I do not have a design degree but what I do have is a good eye & sense of style.

It all started when Chuck, my husband, and I moved back to Ohio (after being in downtown Chicago for 10 years). In the summer of 2014 we went through an unimaginable tragedy – maybe one day I will be able to blog about that but today is not the day. I needed a distraction… I started to buy things, small things of course, like furniture. I am sure Chuck thought I was crazy but he also knew that I needed something to keep my mind from the darkness that was lurking around us. I refurnished and redecorated our entire house. I styled it until it was my idea of perfection. Unfortunately, though, I still could not escape the sadness, so we decided to put our house on the market. In less than 36 hours we were in contract and I would like to think it was because of my decorating/design skills – virtual high five to myself!

We then moved into a beautiful – even bigger, even older- house. Some thought we were crazy but when you need to escape you go into survival mode and that is what we did. Bigger house meant more buying, more decorating, more updating. And boy was it fun! This time though it wasn’t for a distraction, it was because I really loved doing it. Picking paint colors, wallpaper patterns, backsplash, hardware, light fixtures, accessories for what seemed like the endless built-ins we had, it was all exhilarating and I loved every decision I had to make. Chuck would say I would light up when styling each room, he knew how much fun I was having.

BTW huge shout out to that man…he would join me on my weekly outing to Homegoods. We would be the first people there. Every. Damn. Saturday. Even during football season. If you haven’t read between the lines, he is my biggest cheerleader and one of the main reasons I am trying this venture out.

Speaking of the main reason I am going for it...

Many of you who are reading this know that our daughter, Sienna aka SiSi, was born at just 27 weeks gestation. She spent the first 90 days of her life in the hospital. She fought every day to survive, so when I say she is the bravest person I know I wholeheartedly mean it. The nurses & doctors always said how “fragile” she was. We didn’t realize it at the time but what they meant was they were unsure of her future. Chuck and I spent nearly 12 hours a day in the hospital, holding her, whispering to her that everything was going to be okay & that she had three very important angels watching over her. Miracles do happen people, I witnessed one and I am lucky enough to call that miracle my daughter.

For the first 2 years of Sienna’s life, we were on what we referred to as “house arrest”. Little fun fact for you - I truly believe my neighbors thought we were on real house arrest – they did not know my sarcasm or sense of humor so I am almost positive they thought we were felons. Any who…

After SiSi aced her 2-year development assessment, Chuck and I vowed to catch up on all the things we felt she missed out on. Going to the park, having playdates, being with her family – yes you read that right, we had to limit the amount she was around other people outside of mommy/daddy/Gina (her nanny). It was right around this time that we started to talk about moving – yet again. We were 2.5 hours from Sandusky and about 1.5 hours from Dayton – where Chuck’s family lives. Well, as you can see I won. Just kidding – it was a mutual decision. And we couldn’t be happier.

Enter – the “money pit”. Even older house. Again, I would not want it any other way. The house we bought is perfect for our little family of 3. We have started renovations but it will be a long road. And that’s okay because that means you will have to keep following me & watching the transformation from room to room.

So why the long-winded story? Well, I thought it was important for you to see how I became obsessed with decorating. As cheesy as it is to say, it was my therapy. Everyone should have a “safe place” and sanctuary. Over the years, my homes have become just that and I want to make sure that anyone who I get the pleasure of working with feels the same way.